Metaphire posthuma (Vaillant, 1868)

Narayanan, S. Prasanth, Thomas, Basil, Sunish, K. S., Anuja, R., Sathrumithra, S., Smija, M. K., Christopher, G., Thomas, A. P. & Julka, J. M., 2020, First record of exotic Dichogaster saliens (Beddard, 1893) and Metaphire posthuma (Vaillant, 1868) (Annelida: Clitellata) from Kerala state, Southern India, Records of the Zoological Survey of India 120 (2), pp. 161-166 : 162-164

Metaphire posthuma (Vaillant, 1868)

1868. Perichaeta posthuma Vaillant, Ann. Sci. Nat ., Ser. 5, 10: 228.

2012. Metaphire posthuma : Blakemore, Cosmopolitan Earthworms: 499.

Material examined: 1 clitellate, Regn. No. ACESSD/ EW/876, India, Kerala, Ernakulam District, Eroor , 9°58’6.96”N 76°19’42.6”E, 15.vi.2018, coll. K.S. Sunish ( Figure. 1 ) .

Description: Length 160 mm, diameter 5.5 mm (dorsoventrally flattened due to bad transportation), segments 111; perichaetine; prostomium epilobous; first dorsal pore at intersegmental furrow 12/13; clitellum annular, in segments 14-16; male pores paired, in segment 18, longitudinal crescent like slits in copulatory pouches; female pore on 14; spermathecal pores paired, at intersegmental furrows 5/6/7/8/9; genital markings present, paired, equatorial, disc like in segments 17 and 19; gizzard in segment 8, intestinal ceaca simple in 27-24; typhlosole present; meronephric; prostates racemose, latero-mesially flattened, in 16-21, prostatic duct long, thick and sinuous at the ectal end; spermathecae four pairs, ducts shorter than ampulla, diverticulum long, stalk short. Ingesta fine sand, tiny quartz, minute bits of bark and colloids.

Distribution: INDIA: Kerala (Eroor, present record), Andaman Islands, Assam, Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal ( Stephenson, 1922; Halder, 2003; Srivastava et al., 2003; Siddaraju et al., 2010; Mandal et al., 2011; Chaudhari et al., 2012; Rajkhowa et al., 2015). Elsewhere: So far, this species has been recorded from various countries of Asia (Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Christmas Island, Indonesia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Philippines, Pakistan, Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam), Africa (Seychelles Archipelago), Europe (England, France?), America (Argentina, Bahamas, Mexico, United States of America) and Pacific Islands (Solomon Islands, Vanuatu) (Gates, 1937, 1972; Blakemore, 2012; Kharkongor, 2018).

Figures

Figure 1. Distribution of Dichogaster saliens and Metaphire posthuma in Kerala.